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Bill eliminating Courtesy Patrol needs approved

West Virginia legislators are digging deep into the state budget to find savings enough to balance it with few or no tax increases. That makes it all the more puzzling that the state Senate is sitting on a way to reduce spending by $3 million.

A few weeks ago, House of Delegates members approved a bill to eliminate the Courtesy Patrol program. It is funded at $3 million for the current fiscal year.

Using taxpayers’ money for the Courtesy Patrol has been controversial during the past few years, because the program is operated by a private entity under contract with the state. The Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia, based in Beckley, handles the project.

Employees of the CCCWV patrol a few major highways, on the lookout for motorists in distress. They can be assisted with tasks such as changing tires or filling empty fuel tanks.

Technically a nonprofit organization, the CCCWV clears a tidy profit on the Courtesy Patrol, according to its Form 990 filings with the Internal Revenue Service. According to those reports, it cost the CCCWV about $15.8 million to operate the program during a recent five-year period, in which it received more than $19.7 million from the state. Taxpayers paid out more than $3.9 million more than the program cost, to judge by the 990 filings.

One concern of some legislators is what the president of the CCCWV, based in Beckley, is paid. During a recent 10-year period, his salary averaged about $295,000 a year, again according to 990 filings.

Still, some lawmakers seem persuaded to retain the program because it provides jobs for a few unemployed Mountain State residents and provides a service for travelers. Forty-one delegates voted against the bill to eliminate the Courtesy Patrol (58 were in favor).

Once passed by the House, the measure was sent to the state Senate — but there it has languished for nearly three weeks. With just a few days left in the Legislature’s regular session, the bill could die.

Especially during a time when any budget line item with seven or more figures in it is being looked at closely for savings, that would make no sense.

State senators should approve the bill, HB 2007, eliminating the Courtesy Patrol. Our state cannot afford to continue spending far more than we should on the program. For a change, let’s extend some courtesy to taxpayers.

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